1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle windshield wipers, and more particularly, to an improved windshield wiper suited for rapid removal of debris obstructing the occupants' view through the windshield of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for windshield wipers have been designed in the past. None of them, however, include an elegant mechanism to lift the windshield wiper blade off of the windshield during the return stroke while providing an advantageous blade profile to remove debris efficiently from the windshield and yet remain easily attachable to a vehicle and removable without significant modifications.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,116 issued to DeKalaita. However, it differs from the present invention because although DeKalaita has an assembly affixed to the windshield of a vehicle that interacts with a corresponding assembly on the wiper blade arm it fails to hold the arm off the windshield for the entire return stroke while allowing the blade to contact the windshield on the outboard stroke. DeKalaita in designed to knock debris from the wiper blade itself rather than providing a means to directly more effectively wipe the windshield.
In contrast to DeKalaita, the present invention will, in addition to clearing a debris-covered blade by knocking it on the windshield, it also acts to push debris accumulated on the windshield only away towards the side of the vehicle thereby greatly increasing the performance of the windshield wiper.
Further, the present invention includes variants that further distinguish it from the prior art by provided a complementary wiper blade profile, allow the device to be easily removable from the vehicle when not needed and has a fluid flushing capability, among other improvements and differences.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggest the novel features of the present invention.